1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to child monitors, and more particularly to child monitors with video or other image capture functionality.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional child monitor systems typically have a receiver (or parent unit) and a transmitter (or child unit) that communicate wirelessly with one another. The child unit is typically placed in the nursery or other environment occupied by the child, and the receiver is typically located remotely from the child's environment in a room or location occupied by a caregiver. From there, the child unit captures sounds and, in some cases, images, and transmits representative data to the parent unit, at which point the data is converted back into the sounds and images for playback. In this way, the caregiver can use the system to periodically check to see if the child is sleeping peacefully or otherwise safely disposed within the nursery.
Some parent units have been designed for portability, enabling the unit to be carried or worn by the caregiver. As a result, the caregiver can continue to monitor the child in the nursery while engaged in other activities. A vibration alert feature is also provided in some commercially available systems, as the caregiver may at times be unable to hear the reproduced sounds or watch the displayed images.
The digital communication links established in several commercially available systems have been capable of transmitting information in addition to the audio and video data. For example, the imonitor™ monitor products available from Graco Children's Products as models nos. 2791 and 2795 transmit an identification, or privacy, code to the receiver during a startup routine. The transmitters can also send a command to the receiver to activate a parent unit finder feature.
Unfortunately, the digital transmissions of commercially available systems have typically been capable of producing only relatively low quality audio and image content. Transmission conditions and other factors can introduce noise, limit reception strength, and cause dropouts or interruptions. These and other real-world factors have generally discouraged the transmission of high resolution images and other data-intensive content. Nevertheless, the resulting quality is often tolerable or sufficient considering the size of the display screen of a typical parent unit, as well as the often limited or intermittent use of the display. Thus, the video feed may still be acceptable for purposes of determining whether the child is awake, sleeping, restless or content.